Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability

Education System

Early Learning Programs

For assistance, call 866-357-3239 or visit http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/

What is the purpose of the programs?

Early learning programs work collaboratively with families, their children, and local child care providers to increase children's chances of achieving future educational success and becoming productive members of society by furthering their physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development.

What are the primary early learning programs?

The two largest early learning programs in Florida are School Readiness and Voluntary Prekindergarten.
  • School Readiness. Each local School Readiness Program is required to provide the elements necessary to prepare at-risk children for school, including health screening and referral, and an appropriate educational program. These programs are designed to be developmentally appropriate, be research-based, involve parents as their children's first teachers, serve as preventive measures for children at risk of future school failure, and enhance the educational readiness of eligible children. Chapter 1002, Part VI, Florida Statutes, provides requirements for implementing the School Readiness Program.
  • Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK). The program provides a free, voluntary prekindergarten education for every Florida child four years of age, as required by article IX, section 1 of the Florida Constitution. The state's VPK Program is designed to address and enhance each child’s ability to make age appropriate progress in an appropriate range of settings in the development of language and cognitive capabilities and emotional, social, regulatory and moral capacities through education in basic skills. Chapter 1002, Part V, Florida Statutes, provides requirements for implementing and assessing the VPK Program.

Are there prekindergarten services for children with disabilities?

Early Steps, a Florida Department of Health program, is Florida's early intervention system that offers services to children from birth to three years who have or are at-risk for developmental delays. Florida's Division of Early Learning offers the VPK Specialized Instructional Services education program, which is designed for four-year-olds with special needs who have current individualized education plans from local school districts. The State Board of Education's rule (Rule 6A-6.03026, Florida Administrative Code), outlines the criteria for prekindergarten participation as they relate to children with disabilities.

What is the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program?

The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program is a parental involvement, school readiness home visitation program to help eligible parents who participate in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) prepare their three-, four- and five-year old children for success in school and life. Parents receive a set of carefully developed courses, books, and materials to strengthen a child's cognitive and early literacy skills, as well as social, emotional, and physical development.

How are early learning programs structured at the state level?

The State Board of Education oversees the state's School Readiness and VPK programs. Within the Florida Department of Education, the Division of Early Learning is assigned powers, duties, responsibilities, and functions related to administering these and other early learning programs. Specifically, the department is responsible for developing and adopting performance standards for students in the VPK Program and for VPK Program accountability (ss. 1002.67 and 1002.73, Florida Statutes).

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is responsible for the licensing and credentialing of early learning providers. Currently, DCF child-care licensing staff are responsible for the inspection and licensure of child-care facilities and homes in 62 out of 67 counties as well as registration of family day care homes in those counties which do not require licensure. Five counties (Broward, Hillsborough, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and Sarasota) have elected to regulate licensing of child-care facilities and homes.

How is the local system organized?

There are 30 early learning coalitions and the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, all of which submit plans to the Department of Education detailing how they intend to implement School Readiness programs for eligible children in their areas. Coalitions serve one or more counties and plan, coordinate, and implement readiness programs following the standards and guidelines established in statute (ss. 1002.83, 1002.84, and 1002.85, Florida Statutes). Local coalitions also oversee providers that offer School Readiness and VPK services.

How many children are served in Early Learning programs?

  • During Fiscal Year 2021-22, local School Readiness programs provided preschool education and child care services to 203,949 children statewide. Of that number, 66%, or 134,126, were below the age of six, while 34%, or 69,377, were school age (age six or older). An additional 446 (less than 1%) of children in local School Readiness programs were categorized as special needs.
  • During Fiscal Year 2021-22, 157,451 children attended voluntary prekindergarten (VPK). Since it began in 2005-06, more than 2.6 million children have attended VPK.

How are the School Readiness programs evaluated?

The Office of Early Learning evaluates how well children do on statewide assessments before and after receiving school readiness services. The Voluntary School Readiness Child Assessment system provides teachers, child care providers, and parents a tool to guide instruction, document learning, and development over time, and will complement developmentally-appropriate curriculum.

How is VPK eligibility determined?

Any child who attains the age of four years on or before September 1 of the school year is eligible for the program, during either that school year or the following school year. The child remains eligible until either admitted to kindergarten or if the child reaches age six before February 1 of the school year.

How is kindergarten readiness evaluated?

The Department of Education, in collaboration with the Office of Early Learning, operates a statewide, standardized coordinated screening and progress monitoring system for VPK and public schools. Participation in this screening and progress monitoring system is required for all public and private VPK providers.

Section 1008.25(8), Florida Statutes, requires the monitoring system to measure student progress in meeting the appropriate expectations in early literacy and mathematics skills and in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics standards, and identify the educational strengths and needs of the students. Florida statutes also require the monitoring system to provide baseline data to the department of each student's readiness for kindergarten, based on the results of each student's initial assessment when beginning kindergarten.

How are VPK providers rated?

Each VPK provider must participate in a department-led assessment for each education classroom in the VPK program. The observation and assessment measures the quality of teacher-child interactions, emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support for children ages 3 to 5 years. This observation must account for no less than 50% of the school provider's performance metric.

The other 50% of the performance metric is based on the changes or improvements in student  learning gains from the initial progress monitoring to the final progress monitoring results, combined with other developmental learning outcomes. These metrics include literacy skills, oral communication, knowledge of print and letters, vocabulary, and early math skills.

Are there consequences for VPK providers whose performance metric falls below the minimum designation?

Yes. If a provider's performance metric falls below the minimum designation, the early learning coalition must require the provider to submit and implement an improvement plan, place the provider on probation, and require certain corrective actions. If the provider remains on probation for two consecutive years without meeting the minimum performance designation, their eligibility to provide the VPK program is revoked. In addition, if a provider's program assessment composite score does not meet the minimum required score, the provider may not participate in the VPK program in the consecutive year until they raise their score.

How are these activities funded?

The Voluntary Prekindergarten Program is funded by state general revenue, and the School Readiness Program receives a combination of state and federal dollars. Federal funding is from two major sources-child care block grants and welfare transition funds.
Fiscal Year: 2023-24
Fund Dollars Positions
EARLY LEARNING
PROGRAM: EARLY LEARNING SERVICES
2,540,876,805
98.00
TOTAL
2,540,876,805
98.00

Where can I find related OPPAGA reports?

A complete list of related OPPAGA reports is available on our website.

Where can I get more information?

Other Reports
A complete list of Auditor General reports is available on its website
2020-21 Annual Report, Division of Early Learning

Websites of Interest
Children's Defense Fund
Children's Forum
Department of Children and Families, Child Care Regulation

Performance Information


Performance measures and standards for the department may be found in its Long Range Program Plan.

What are the applicable statutes?

Chapter 1002 Parts V and VI, Florida Statutes

Whom do I contact for help?

Division of Early Learning (VPK and School Readiness), 1-866-357-3239
Website